Scenes from a watch party

Ann Murguia and friends would have watched the returns come in Tuesday night at their election party, except returns don’t really “come in” anymore. In the computer-voting age, the results are dumped all at once, like a 9th inning hanging curveball in a 0-0 game. In this case, Murguia swung and missed around 9:35. She conceded five minutes later.

In the computer-voting age, the results are dumped all at once, like a 9th inning hanging curveball in a 0-0 game.

In this case, Murguia swung and missed around 9:35. She conceded five minutes later.

She was gracious in defeat — although she missed the obligatory public nod to the winner, Mark Holland.

But there was also a sense that Murguia and her supporters knew the battle would be uphill even before the results were known. Several people at the party said Murguia ran a good campaign “no matter what happens tonight,” usually a sign that folks are worried.